Current challenges of lung cancer care in an aging population

Lung cancer is the most common cancer in the elderly with a high mortality rate. Despite the high incidence, the elderly are under-represented in clinical trials and under-treated in clinical practice. These patients have a higher prevalence of comorbid disease, higher polypharmacy interactions, and an increased risk of mortality and toxicity with cancer treatments, compared to younger patients. Often data about their treatments come from retrospective analysis including patients who do not reflect the general elderly population. However, elderly patients can often receive cancer treatment similar to younger patients and an active treatment should not be denied based on older age.